Aspiring Rapper Tweets YOLO, Then Dies In Drunk Driving Car Accident

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Charley Rogulewski | September 9, 2012 - 4:09 pm

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It’s something out of a PSA for drunk driving, or a scene out of the Final Destination films. Above all, it’s a tragedy that could have possibly been prevented. Earlier this week, five men in their early 20s were killed in Ontario, California when their 2005 Nissan Sentra ran a red light, lost control and hit a fence before coming to rest in the backyard of a house, according to the San Bernardino Sun. As news of the tragedy spread around of community, one of the vicitim’s Twitter accounts caught the attention of investigators. Ervin McKinness, 21, died in the car crash, which police say occurred around 1:40AM on Labor Day (Sep. 3), but approximately twenty minutes before the deadly accident, the 21-year-old sent out a tweet that could have saved his life if someone had intervened. “Drunk af going 120 drifting corners #F–kIt YOLO,” was posted at 1:19AM Monday on McKinness’ Twitter account (@ink2flashyy.) “YOLO” is the acronym for “You Only Live Once.” The four letters are often used on the social networking site. (Drake popularized the acronym on the track “The Motto.” “You only live once, that’s the motto, ni–a Yolo / We bout it every day, every day, every day / Like we sitting on the bench, ni–a we don’t really play ,” the Young Money MC raps on the track.) Marquell Bogan, 23, Dylan George, 20, Jonathan Watson, 21 and JaJuan Bennett, 23, were also killed in the car accident. McKinness, who sent out the now-cryptic tweet, was not at the wheel, as his tweets suggest. Watson was driving according to police. One final, follow-up tweet from McKinness a minute later read: “Driving tweeting sipping the cup f–k yolo I’m turning it up.” The last tweet was eventually removed from his account. All but one of the victims was pronounced dead on the scene. Bogan was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2AM. The investigation is still underway, but McKinness’ tweets reveal that alcohol was in play. Family and friends of the deceased revealed that the group were celebrating the good news that McKinness — an aspiring rapper that went by the name Jew’elz and Inkky — had signed a record deal. His track “Dreams” can be streamed below.